My New Whip: 2023 C8 Corvette in Arctic White

It is about time for a new car upgrade. Not another Prius, or a fuel efficient car even. It’s time to grab myself a really, really nice car. That car just happens to be a 2023 Chevrolet C8 Corvette in Arctic White.

It has been a while since my last post due to so many things that happened during and post pandemic. The biggest news of 2023 is we became new homeowners, and we moved out of California. As of posting this entry, we have about 25% left to unpack! More on that in a separate post. This entry is about cars.

I’ll preface this post by saying that I owned my 2012 Toyota Prius Four for eleven whole years as of this entry. In fact, many entries in this blog was about that very Prius that started it all. It has accumulated 147,619 miles as of this writing. It has been on many road trips. We’ve driven it to British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. It has been on road trips to the Sierra Nevadas. We’ve taken it all over California. We’ve gone on road trips with it to Arizona, and New Mexico, and we’ve driven it cross country to our new home in Texas.

The new car itch started around April 2023, just right after we closed on our first home and so close to moving out of state. What can be a better pairing with a new house other than a new car? I looked around and decided that I will not settle for another Prius or fuel economy car. Instead, I was gravitated towards a 2023 Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, a Last Call 2023 Dodge Challenger R/T Scatpack with Widebody and manual transmission or the 2023 Toyota Supra GR.

But In Actuality…

I actually placed a custom order for the Cayman when we closed on our new home back in mid-March 2023, but then later realize that I lacked the patience to wait 18 months for my 718 allocation. I had it all customized and submitted to the local Porsche dealership in the DFW area of Texas.

Custom Orders Placed

When mid-April arrived, I flew back to Texas to work on our house; i.e. set up internet connection, set up pool maintenance service, install smart home devices, setup home security and cameras, etc. I took the opportunity to cancel my 718 order and place a new order for a 2023 Porsche Macan T in Carbine Red, for my wife. Which is exactly what I did. Fortunately, my 718 order was cancellable since it was so far out. The 2023 Macan T total configuration came out to a little under $90,000 in change.

I decided to pass on the Challenger after realizing that it has recently been on the crosshair of would-be thieves. I’ve owned Hondas in the past and having car theft anxiety is not what I like to go through again.

After my visit to the Porsche dealership, I drove over to the Chevrolet dealership and placed a custom order for a 2023 C8 Corvette 2LT in Hypersonic Gray and Adrenaline Red interior. The dealership assigned a work order number and the waiting game started.

Arctic White C8 Corvette

Fast forward to late May, after we moved out of California, I received a call from another dealership that I contacted during my initial quest for a C8. The saleslady on the phone informed me that they have an Arctic White C8 Corvette with Black interior available. I went to take a look, test drove and the rest was history. The only thing it had in common with my custom order is that it is a 2LT. However, it also has neat features. Upgrades such as Z51 Performance Package (front lip spoiler, Z51 performance exhaust, Z51 suspension, Z51 low wing spoiler), racing stripes in flash carbon metallic (which I decided to remove later), and a sleuth of other ancillary upgrades (all weather Jake Racing floor mats, etc.) were part of the package. The deal sealer was the price. I only paid MSRP for the car versus paying a premium dealership up-charge on top of MSRP (they call it “market adjustment”), for the custom ordered C8 that I had to wait 4-5 months to take delivery. The whole visit to the dealership lasted only about an hour and a half. The fun part was driving the C8 home and having my saleslady at the dealership drive my Prius home. Then, I had to drive her back to the dealership in the C8 and then back home by myself.

What’s in store for the C8? I mean, it is a sweet ride as it is. I’ll probably just add visible carbon fiber accents to the exterior. Maybe swap out the Z51 low wing spoiler for a carbon fiber high wing spoiler, add carbon fiber side rocker extenders.

What is the fate of my 2012 Toyota Prius Four? I will definitely keep it, but it will be relegated to beater status. I’ll use it mainly to transport our dogs to the vet and back, or if I need to haul more than what a two seater can.

As for the wife’s 2012 Prius c Four, it most likely will be traded in when we pick up her Porsche Macan T next month in August. It won’t be worth much due to being in many fender benders, but it drives like a champ with no issues to the drivetrain. So we’ll try to get as much value out of it as we possibly can.

In reality though, we’ll probably eventually replace the ZVW30 Prius with a 5-seater electric vehicle. While I dismissed the Dodge Challenger V8 due to its popularity to theft, I definitely wouldn’t mind owning an EV Dodge Charger, or Challenger as a daily driver.